State judge orders Kalshi to stop offering sports bets and other wagers
A state court in Washington this week ordered Kalshi to stop offering sports gambling and a variety of other wagers on its prediction market. King County Superior Court Judge John McHale issued a preliminary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed against Kalshi by the state of Washington. "The order requires Kalshi to stop offering, accepting, or facilitating wagers on sports, elections, politics, entertainment, culture, tech and science, or mentions in Washington," said a press release yesterday from Washington Attorney General Nick Brown. "Kalshi must implement an IP address and residency-based geofence by August 19 and a multi-source geofencing solution by September 2. This does not include all the wagers offered on Kalshi, but it includes a substantial part of their business, which in recent years has been increasingly driven by sports wagers." Kalshi is not licensed by the state Gambling Commission and is not registered to conduct business in Washington, the court order said. McHale found that Kalshi ads claiming "that it offers 'legal betting' in Washington state are likely to mislead a reasonable consumer that such gambling activities are legal under state law." Read full article Comments
A state court in Washington this week ordered Kalshi to stop offering sports gambling and a variety of other wagers on its prediction market. King County Superior Court Judge John McHale issued a preliminary injunction in response to a lawsuit filed against Kalshi by the state of Washington.
Under the court order, Kalshi could face penalties of up to $120,000 per day if it fails to complete the implementation of the ordered geofencing by September 2. “Kalshi will not prohibit users from exiting positions they already hold. The State reserves, and does not waive, the right to seek recovery for fees and losses incurred by Washington consumers on or after September 2, 2026,” the order said.
Kalshi claims it doesn’t have to follow state laws
